Perfection comes at a price.As soon as the government passed legislation allowing humans to be genetically engineered and sold as pets, the rich and powerful rushed to own beautiful girls like Ella. Trained from birth to be graceful, demure, and above all, perfect, these “family companions” enter their masters’ homes prepared to live a life of idle luxury.Ella is happy with her new role as … happy with her new role as playmate for a congressman’s bubbly young daughter, but she doesn’t expect Penn, the congressman’s handsome and rebellious son. He’s the only person who sees beyond the perfect exterior to the girl within. Falling for him goes against every rule she knows and the freedom she finds with him is intoxicating.
But when Ella is kidnapped and thrust into the dark underworld lurking beneath her pampered life, she’s faced with an unthinkable choice. Because the only thing more dangerous than staying with Penn’s family is leaving and if she’s unsuccessful, she’ll face a fate far worse than death.
For fans of Keira Cass’s Selection series and Lauren DeStefano’s Chemical Garden series, Perfected by Kate Jarvik Birch is a chilling look at what it means to be human, and a stunning celebration of the power of love to set us free, wrapped in a glamorous and dangerous bow.
”more
This novel involved a unique and intriguing concept, that of genetically designing girls for “pets,” fitting them with implanted ID chips and selling them to wealthy individuals for decorative additions to their households. In this book, Ella is sold to a politician to act as a luxury/status item as well as a companion to his 10-year-old daughter, Ruby. But since Ella is perfectly pretty, complications and connections develop within the male population of the household—which is far from surprising. I liked Ella’s authentic-seeming, naïve initial outlook and how she gradually came to realize the true nature of her self and her position in the family and society. I liked how the ending wrapped up, although some threads are left for the storyline to continue into another book.
I’ve gone back and forth about the rating, jumping between 4 and 5 stars. Why? Here’s the deal: this was a great concept and it had my imagination going crazy. A little far-fetched, yes, but very unique and slightly believable because people are actually this sick. I thought it was well thought-out, the plot was solid, and the MC as flesh-out as she could be (she didn’t know who she was, so it made sense that I felt a bit of a distance between us when I read it). So what was my hang up? It was very, very YA. Which is fine, because that’s what it was supposed to be. There was nothing wrong with it, and it is a book I would have no problem passing on to my 13 year old niece. It was clean, well-written, and a great read. But I was dying to read about the ADULT side of this world. I was soooo intrigued by this concept. The whole time I was reading, I was imagining scenarios other pets might be going through, and it was driving me nuts. Wanting to know more about the world these poor girls were exposed to.
But that isn’t the author’s fault, and aside from that this was a fantastic read. I’ve picked up so many dystopian novels over the past few years, and many have struck me as unique, but something about this one really stuck out. Probably because the world it was set in was SO like our own, but this one thing made is so different and foreign that it was tough to figure out when it was supposedly set. Which in itself was intriguing.
I LOVE this version of dystopia. Typically dystopia is more along the lines of Divergent and Hunger Games with big battles and over throwing an entire nation, but Perfected is far more subtle and quite about it’s rebellion. In a world where legislation has been passed allowing genetically engeninered girls to be sold as pets, Ella must learn how to fight for her freedom and the children inside of the home that bought her must learn how to stand up to their father and protect Ella. We don’t often see this side of dystopia and I absolutely LOVE it—it shows there is so much more to dystopia that what we typically see. I highly recommend. Also…cute guy. Just saying.
This was a good read in that it has a different take on being someone’s pet. However, I didn’t like the ending that was no ending. My guess is that there is a future book that goes on to tell what happened to the “pet” who doesn’t know how to take care of herself but I would have preferred more of an ending.
I wanted to keep reading because wanted to know what would happen next. When I finished the first book, I wanted to read the next one. Now, I can hardly wait for the next installment.
it was a okay book. Easy to read. Nice rainy day book.
The premise of this book was definitely interesting and is socially relevent to some level when compared to the world’s own history of oppression.
Interesting take on a dystopian story.
Original idea, set in the future, where people are breed as pets for other richer people. I enjoyed this book and would have given it 5 stars had it had a different ending. It was a bit of a cliff hanger. I believe there is a sequel. It was easy to read and kept my interest through out. I found myself thinking about it when I wasn’t reading it and that is always a sign of a good book
Perfected was the kind of book that leaves it’s lasting impact on readers. It is set in a world where morals are twisted and right doesn’t seem so far from wrong, a world that will be enthralling to readers of all ages. It is a stunning storyline and plot; however, it seemed to move at a slow pace and the chemistry between the two character’s in love is not as magical as it should be, especially considering it is a forbidden love. Overall, though, Perfected is a very good novel.